Aqua Clear Filters

[NYfan78]

I have 2 AC 70s on my 55 and they every month it seams the basket pops up. I know what this means the sponges are dirty. But every month....****! I only have 1 sponge on the bottom and 2 of the ceramic beads in both of them. Is this normal to have to clean them this often. I know i am not over feeding the fish. They get fed once a day and they gobble it all! Any ideas?

Scott

 

[danger_chicken]

I don't know the size of your fish but you have quite a few in a 55. You don't have to over feed to get a dirty filter, what goes in comes out. 1 month on AC's isn't uncommon in my house.

 

[fischfan13]

I have 2 AC 70s on my 55 and they every month it seams the basket pops up. I know what this means the sponges are dirty. But every month....****! I only have 1 sponge on the bottom and 2 of the ceramic beads in both of them. Is this normal to have to clean them this often. I know i am not over feeding the fish. They get fed once a day and they gobble it all! Any ideas?

Scott

Get rid of the beads and add another sponge.
More beneficial bacteria.
More cleaning power.
No "pop ups".

 

[emartin]

Or just something heavy on the lid, it's the lazy man's solution

 

[SubMariner]

Get rid of the beads and add another sponge.
More beneficial bacteria.
More cleaning power.
No "pop ups".

Yes, a 2 sponge system is recommended, but even that system will pop up eventually.

Or just something heavy on the lid, it's the lazy man's solution

Ed is right on the money, use a brick on top to hold it down. LOL! A rock is good, but yes it just means that your sponges are doing overtime and need to be squeezed like tomorrow.

Good Luck NYfan78,


RM

 

[mchambers]

Agreed

I don't know the size of your fish but you have quite a few in a 55. You don't have to over feed to get a dirty filter, what goes in comes out. 1 month on AC's isn't uncommon in my house.

Once a month on an AC is about right. You could add a prefilter on the intake (just buy another AC sponge, cut two slits crosswise in it, and slip it over the intake). But you'll then need to clean the prefilter monthly.

That's why I now prefer canisters. You have to clean them less often (but it's more work when you do).

 

[mab]

I run somewhere in the range of 30 Hagen Aquaclear Filters. Pop-up is definitely an indicator that the sponge needs to be cleaned. You can push it back down to get a couple extra days if you don't have time; however, don't do this too many times because then you'll have overflow onto the floor. I clean these filters when I do water changes - alternating racks each weekend until I have all cleaned at least once a month.

One alternative is to put a sponge on the intake - you'll need to clean that when water flow diminishes.

 

[NYfan78]

So you all think i should take out all the beads and only use sponges int the filters?

 

[fischfan13]

So you all think i should take out all the beads and only use sponges int the filters?

Yup.
All AC's, with the exception of the 110/500, can actually fit in three AC sponges.
AquaClear, of course, will not recommend more than one because they want you to purchase the carbon insert on a monthly basis.
One of the ways I have noticed it was time to clean out the sponges is actually when I have seen water overflow from the out-take lip over to the intake lip and back out into the tank.

 

[Tony]

So you all think i should take out all the beads and only use sponges int the filters?

Scott, ask yourself, "what are the beads actually doing?"

They're providing area for bacteria to colonize. Welp, the sponges do the same thing, while also pulling out detritus.

Not to poopoo on other's suggestions, but the heavy object on top of the lid is not a good idea. They are designed to pop up when they get full to allow water to bypass and go back into the tank. Without this mechanism, the water can only go out the back of the filter and onto the floor. You will not get that visual indicator this way.

Plus, it's good for your fish to clean their filter.

I use sponge prefilters on some of my tanks where there is sand and/or duckweed near the liftube opening. It clogs very quickly as all of the water is pulled through a smaller surface area than the sponges in the filter box. Ill continue to do it, but only in tanks where duckweed/sand is an issue.

 

[danger_chicken]

I like using the ceramic, I can completely clean the sponge with no worries about destroying the bio filtration. The issue I have is is the bag the ceramic comes in falls apart after a year.

 

[Charlutz]

Not to poopoo on other's suggestions, but the heavy object on top of the lid is not a good idea. They are designed to pop up when they get full to allow water to bypass and go back into the tank. Without this mechanism, the water can only go out the back of the filter and onto the floor. You will not get that visual indicator this way.

Tony -

If you have your filter level (using the leveler tab at the bottom) there should be no danger of water spilling out the back. As someone else said, when the water starts bypassing the clogged sponge, it will spill back into the tank on top of the uplift tube. :happy0180:

 

[emartin]

The thing is with my AC110 the sponge can get kicked up over night just from the massive water flow the filter's pump outputs. So it isn't always clogged with it does that. Maybe on their smaller models, but on my AC110 I ALWAYS have to have a heavy object like a jar of carbon or something to keep the lid down.

Granted I organize the basket so there is no bypass and that may be why it gets pushed up so often...

But yeah as Charlutz said all that would happen if you have a clogged sponge in an AC filter is water would overflow the other side of the filter over the intake tube. I've never had water overflow out of the filter onto the floor or anything.